Thursday, June 19, 2008

...I need park for a rest

On Monday afternoon Biscotti and I were walking the dogs on various trails in Pacific Spirit Park. Usually when we do this, there are many other trail users, mainly professional dog-walkers and bikers. This time, however, the spotting of other people was a rarity, unusual for such a nice afternoon. At one point, walking north on Salish north of Council, there was eerie silence. No passersby talking, no dogs barking, not even birds chirping. And the closest road was miles away, keeping the rumble of cars out of our ears. So, naturally, surrounded by nature and with nary a sound or onlooker around, you can probably guess what I was able to talk Biscotti into doing. That's right: nothing. We both stopped walking, stood still, and just listened. Listened to nothing. It was so very quiet. Not a sound. Calming.It made me think of Saturday morning. After yet another week of "phone calls" and early mornings and obnoxiously loud and intermittent sounds and hard labour, I had been looking forward to a nice long sleep. Well, the house directly west of us recently got demolished and on Saturday morning, no later than eight-thirty, there was heavy machinery making obnoxiously loud and consistent sounds (*CRASH* *KLUNK* *BANG* *SMASH*). My head, laying on my pillow less than a foot from the west side of our house, was closer than anyone's head should've been to the source, attempting to sleep or not. Sleep was impossible. They kept up the work deep into the afternoon, and for the rest of the day I was a zombie as we were out and about.To avoid a repeat early wake-up situation this Saturday morning, I'm considering hauling my bed to Salish Trail - just north of Council - on Friday evening and bunking down for a good night's sleep. What? Yeah, maybe you're right, it's a stupid idea. Best to just take a sleeping bag and therm-a-rest.